Microcontrollers on mechanical equipment typically generate more diagnostic information than can be efficiently managed by people. Microcontrollers also typically generate alarms that are triggered in response to particular values associated with an operational characteristic of the mechanical equipment deviating from an acceptable range of values. Alarms not coinciding with catastrophic failure of the mechanical equipment are often ignored by the operators of the equipment if they do not present an urgent problem that interferes with normal business operations. Alarms of this nature are also often unaddressed by technicians because of a backlog of urgent problems that need to be addressed to continue or reestablish normal business operations.